The bill amends Chapter 24-8 of the General Laws regarding the construction and maintenance of state roads by introducing a new section, 24-8-4.3, which mandates that all contractors performing work on projects for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) or the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) must implement a traffic control and monitoring plan. This plan must be filed with RIDOT and/or RITBA as part of any bid or contract and must include the presence of a crash truck or attenuator truck equipped with operational traffic monitoring cameras during any construction or maintenance work on state highways or interstate connectors. The crash truck/attenuator truck must be in place and the camera operational whenever work is being undertaken, with the exception of work performed by public utilities.

The bill specifies that the crash truck/attenuator truck must be equipped with at least one camera facing oncoming traffic if the work is on a divided highway, and if not, a camera facing in both directions of the roadway. In the event of a motor vehicle accident at the work site resulting in injury or death to a state employee or construction worker, all videos generated from the cameras must be provided to the Rhode Island State Police and the Department of Attorney General for investigation purposes.

Penalties for violations of this new requirement are also outlined in the bill. A contractor convicted of a first violation will be subject to a civil penalty of $500. For a second and subsequent violations, the contractor will be guilty of a misdemeanor, facing imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000. The act is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.